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Kota Harinarayana,LCA Programme Director | After India flew the HF-24 on June 24,1961,we never had a
challenging project on hand until 1983 when the government sanctioned the LCA with a seed money of Rs 560 crore.They came the demand for a combined R&D Centre to take up the project and Aeronautical Development Agency(ADA) was formed. No building We started functioning at NAL.With 300 people entered the project definition stage. |
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| | | Answer to a Press - Dr. Kota | How much have we benefited from the project ? | Since the aircraft will be indigenous, it will enable India to decide its future course. If one is dependent for spare parts on another country, one is doomed. In fact, that country can control your flying efforts and your operational preparedness. So the benefit of this to a security environment cannot be underestimated, especially for a programme like the LCA. Our argument has always been not to merely develop an aircraft,
but the technologies that make an aircraft. And today not only the aircraft has taken off, but also the technologies. That is something very often we have missed. | What will be the future priorities of ADA with respect to LCA ? |
The LCA has entered into operational service. Now we have three prototypes ready. The TD1 has just flown. The TD2 is also ready, undergoing system integration checks. And we should be able to fly the next aircraft in three to four months. The third prototype called PV1 is now getting equipped and this aircraft is close to production standards. Our multi-mode radar is also undergoing
integration tests. We are also making an airframe which will be tested fully, so that is enables the aircraft to be flown to full potential. This will be done towards August – September this year.Now the weaponisation of the LCA is in full swing at ADA, HAL and other major work centers and the weapon systems will be first tested on PV1 and on subsequent prototypes. We have taken up the design of the trainer for LCA and we expect it to
come out in the next three years. We have also done certain preliminary design work on the naval variant of LCA. This aircraft will be able to take off or land from the new carrier that the Indian Navy is building. |
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| | | | | We may have taken our time, but we have perfected it.Dr. Kota Harinarayana, Program Director, ADA |
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Answer to a Press - Dr. Kota | Was the project required at all? Could the country not have bought what it needed? | A country with one billion-strong population cannot be buying things from abroad. We can buy a few things, but strategic aircraft have to be developed here and that has been our challenge and mission. We do not want make an aircraft by buying everything from abroad. What base would you create in this country ? This country will remain forever. How else do we generate wealth here ? The LCA
Project is not about building an aircraft. It is about creating wealth for the country. If everything is brought from abroad how will you create jobs ? The LCA Project was not about building an aircraft. We have developed a series of technologies and the cascading effect and spin-off. Effect is much more. For instance several companies that developed
technologies for the LCA have already started exporting them. There has been plenty of tears, tribulations and hard work. Any country that has taken up such projects, has done it the hard day. |
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| Dr. Kota Harinarayana, Programme Director, LCA, ADA, receiving the SILICON
TROPHY-2000, from the Prime Minister, Mr. A.B, Vajpayee, at the DRDO awards function in NewDelhi on Friday, as the Defence Minister, Mr. Jaswant Singh, looks on in presence of SA to RM Dr. Aatre on May 11, 2001. |
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| Answer to a Press - Dr. Kota | Why did it take 16 long years for the first LCA flight to happen? The last fighter we developed was the HF 24 Marut (Hindustan Fighter) in 1961. There was a gap of 40 years. In the area of fighter aircraft, we have to run if you want to stay where you are. When the LCA project came into being, we had to build facilities, train people, develop
technologies, develop components, develop equipment, integrate the whole thing. And the technologies that we have deployed state- of-the-art. The amount of testing that we had to do was enormously high. Not only were the designers new, but the inspection team and airworthiness team also had to learn the technology. The test pilot also had to undergo the process of learning. The whole project had to be done from scratch.Building of the F-22 aircraft
began in 1980 and it flew first in 1997 - after 17 years. The Eurofighter was to make its maiden flight in 1990, but it flew in 1994. The UK, Germany, Italy and Spain have been involved with the EFA. Why is the media mum on this aspect? Western nations are continually working on prototypes and have more time, Considering their technology. As for the joint strike fighter (of the US)-it is only being test-flown and it is estimated that it will be ready
in 2004. They still have to work on it. The joint strike fighter has been discussed for more than a decade - since 1982. In a complex programme, such as one involving aircraft, so many technologies are being developed - 15 years is not a long time. But moving ahead should be faster - the aircraft can enter into service in 2005 or 2007, but decisions are needed to enter production . How do the other countries manage ? The European fighter aircraft has been developed by four European countries - UK, Germany, Italy and France. They were to have their first flight in 1990, but they actually flew only in 1994. That means with four advanced nations working together, they took four years more
than what they predicted. In the case of LCA, we planned to fly in December 1996, but we flew only in January 2001. About four years of delay. The Europeans did not have any US sanctions. And all these countries had a continuous stream of aircraft being developed. So I don't think the delay in the LCA's first flight is anything unusual. The US conceived the F-22 as early as 1980. The first prototype flew in 1997- after 17 years. It is not
unusual for high technology programmes to take time. What is the significance of the LCA ? The LCA has been designed to replace the MiG series of aircraft. This is a very light aircraft, supersonic, multi-role and has very
advanced technologies, comparable to the best available in the world today. The LCA has indigenous content of more than 70 percent. So there are huge job opportunities. Also, critical technologies such as advanced composites, digital fly-by-wire, the all-digital cockpit, digital avionics, utility management systems and a host of other technologies have been developed.These technologies not only make the LCA an excellent fighter, but are available for
all other programmes. The spin-offs are many. For example, more than 100 equipments developed for the LCA have already found their place in the Intermediate Jet Trainer (IJT) project that has been sanctioned recently by the IAF to HAL. Our software is already being used for development of the composite parts for the development of the Airbus aircraft. More than 300 industries in India have participated. So it is not merely that an aircraft has been test flown, but the
technologies and capabilities also are now ready. This is very important and critical for strategic and academic aspects of the country. |
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| | | CAPTAIN SPEAK | Our scientists faced a lot of rough weather.After the sanctions,our teams were stopped at the gates of Lockheed Martin,USA.They impounded our
equipment,software and documents.There are 300 types of equipment in LCA of which 70 percent have been developed indigenously.we developed test facilities and software.In 1998,we are ready except for the flight control.Hats off to our principal partner,HAL and other teams involved.Normally,they say indians cannot work together.But LCA has proved that wrong.Out of Rs.2,188 crores,we used only Rs 1,833 crore.We were asked to make two models,we made four prototypes.LCA technology is not
obsolete.It can be upgraded at any point of time.It has better man machine interface.We can not forget the contributions of Dr. S.R.Valluri, Dr. V.S.Arunachalam, Dr. A.P.J.Abdul kalam and Dr. V.K.Aatre Dr. Kota Harinarayana |
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